Shotgun shell reloading tools



R YL SEMM ME R T 0 L o E .T WJEWT 3 1D A I 2% mm 3/ Lu 0 MW: 1; n p 4!, m my 7 k I min & 6 u I O F W 2 7 7 I12 3 s 2 :I 9 7 a z 5467 $3 2 J3 G a fifi 0 7. 5 3 I a Z din 41 d F a a l 4/ G O2 I 5 u wz 6 6 F v LP 2 y a Sept. 11, 1962 United States Patent l 3,053,132 SHOTGUN SHELL RELOADING TOOLS Richard J. Lee, 6026 N. Apple Blossom Lan e,, Milwaukee,

Wis., and Jerome F. Golner, RR. 4, Box 474, Pewaukee, Wis.

Filed Mar. 24, 1958, Ser. No. 723,283 1 Claim. (Cl. 8625) The present invention. relates. to tools for reloading or reconditioning shotgun shells.

An object. of the invention is to provide a combination tool of simple and inexpensive construction suitable for use in reloading shotgun shells and, capable of resizing, c addi' g and. crimping a shell in an expeditious manner.

Another object of the. invention is to. provide a shell reloading tool including a barrel-guided plunger element which serves as a Waddin'g member, a crimping member and a shell-ejecting member.

The invention further consists in the several features hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing,

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a reloading tool of the invention in readiness to wad a shotgun shell, the shell being shown partly in section;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the tool applied to the shotgun shell to resize the shell and to complete the wadding operation;

'FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of a barrel of the tool applied to the shell to initiate a crimping operation thereon, a plunger of the tool being separated from the barrel;

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the barrel with the shell confined therein and with the plunger partially inserted in the barrel to complete the crimping operation;

FIG. 5 is a side View of the tool, partly in section, showing the reloaded shell being ejected from the barrel, and

FIG. 6 is a transverse sectional view of the tool taken generally on the line 66 of FIG. 5.

In the drawing, 10 designates a shotgun shell having the usual cylindrical paper tube 11 coaxially secured to a fiat-ended metallic head 12. The shell head has the usual rim flange 13, and the usual primer 14 is detachably pressed into the end of the head. The shell contains a measured charge of powder 15 next to the primer, a disk-like nitro wad 16 over the powder charge, a softer and thicker 'wad 17 over the disk wad 16, and a measured charge of shot 18 over the wad 17, the shot being confined by an inwardly crimped or infolded free end 13 of the paper tube 1 1, as seen in 'FIG. 4. After the shell i fired, the outer end of the paper tube assumes a generally cylindrical shape, but retains the original creases or folds produced in the manufacturing operation.

'The reloading tool of the invention is designated generally by the number 20 and comprises a tubular shellreceivin'g barrel 21 and a plunger 22 cooperating therewith. The plunger includes a cylindrical stem 23 with a disk-like head 24, the head being larger in diameter than the barrel and having a rounded edge 25. The plunger stem 23, which is shorter than the barrel and slightly smaller in diameter than the inner diameter of the paper tube II of the shell, is detachably insertible into the upper end portion of the barrel, and the plunger head 24 presents a downwardly facing stop shoulder 26 engageable with a flat upper end face 27 of the barrel t limit the movement of the plunger into the barrel. The barrel 21, which is of cylindrical shape and open at both ends, is provided with a coaxial cylindrical upper bore 28 in which the plunger stem 23 slidably fits, the bore 8 being considerably shorter than the length of the barrel.

3,053,132 Patented Sept. 11, 1962 ice Below the plunger-guiding bore 28 the barrel is provided with a longer cylindrical bore 29 of larger diameter forsnugly receiving and resizing the paper tube 11 of the shotgun shell. 30 extends from the lower end of the bore 29 to the lower end of the barrel, the diameter of the larger end of the tapered bore beingsufficiently large to clear the rim flange 13 of the shell. The tapered bore facilitates the entry and removal of the shell with respect to the barrel. An upwardly convergent annular shoulder 31, having a slope of about 45-, connects the. adjacent ends of the cylindrical barrel bores 28 and 29 and formsa crimping abutment. The lower end of the fully inserted plunger is spaced a suitable predetermined distance above the lower end of the barrel, about. equal to the length of the tapered bore 30. The upper endv of the barrel has. an interior chamfer 28' to facilitate pouring of the shot into the wadded shell.

The plunger is suitably retained in its fully inserted position in the barrel, as by a spring-pressed detent ball 32. The ball is mounted in a radial pocket 33 in the upper end portion of the barrel and engages in an annular groove 34 formed about the plunger stem. The detent ball is urged inwardly by a snap ring 35 seated in an annular groove 36 formed about the barrel.

When a shell is to be reloaded, the spent primer 14 is forced out of the shell, as by means of a suitable punch, not shown, and a fresh primer is pressed into the shell. If desired, the barrel 21 may be used as an anvil or bench block for these operations. The shell is then set base down on a flat supporting surface 37 and a measured charge of powder 15 is poured into the open upper end of the shell. A nitro wad 16 and a thicker outer wad 1 are then pressed partially into the upper end of the upright shell, the wads being at or near the end of the shell, as seen in FIG. 1. The barrel, with the plunger fully in serted therein, is then passed downwardly over the shell by pushing downwardly with the palm of the hand on the enlarged plunger head 24, the barrel laterally confining and sizing the shell, and the plunger stern entering the shell and pressing the wadding downwardly into the shell against the powder charge, as seen in FIG. 2. The inserted plunger is of sufficient length so that the creased upper end of the paper tube 11 will be below the frustoconical crimping shoulder 31. While the shell-confining barrel is held with one hand the plunger is withdrawn from the barrel with the other hand, the enlarged head of the plunger facilitating manual removal of the plunger. A measured charge of shot is then poured through the chamfered open upper end of the barrel into the wadded shell. The barrels is then pushed farther over the shell into abutment with the support 37, causing an initial partical crimping of the creased upper end of the paper tube 11 by engagement of the tube end with the upwardly convergent frusto-conical shoulder 31, as seen in FIG. 3, the partially crimped tube end being of upwardly convergent shape. The plunger 22 is then pushed downwardly into the upper barrel bore 28, the flat lower end of the plunger engaging the partially crimped shell end and completing the crimping operation by forming the flattened end 19 on the paper tube, as seen in FIG. 4. The entire assembly is then lifted from the supporting surface 37 and the plunger is pushed into the barrel to its limit position, as seen in FIG. 5, to partially eject the completed shell from the barrel. During the shellejecting operation, the enlarged plunger head presents an extended pushing surface and avoids any danger of pinching the hands between the shoulder 26 and the barrel end 27. The protruding shell is pulled from the barrel or is dropped therefrom, and the shell is then in condition for use. The tool assembly is then ready for a wadding operation on another shell.

A downwardly divergent tapered bore;

The reloading tool is of simple, rugged and compact construction, with relatively few parts, and is capable of inexpensive manufacture.

We claim:

A shotgun shell reloading tool, comprising a barrel open at both ends and having a pair of first and second coaxial bores formed longitudinally therein, said first bore opening at the upper end of the barrel, said second bore being of larger diameter than said first bore and adapted to slidably confine a shell therein, said barrel having an annular sloping crimping shoulder between said bores and further having a downwardly divergent entrance bore at its lower end, a plunger including a cylindrical stem and a head at the upper end of the stem, said plunger stem slidably and detachably fitting in said first barrel bore, said plunger head being engageable with the upper end of said barrel to limit the movement of the plunger stem into the barrel, and detent means for detachably holding said plunger in said barrel, said barrel and fully inserted plunger forming an assembly movable axially References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 133,607 Warner Dec. 3, 1872 213,985 Green Apr. 8, 1879 236,678 Hand Jan. 18, 1881 380,686 Lorenz Apr. 10, 1888 413,435 Clifford Oct. 22, 1889 2,749,791 Miller June 12, 1956 2,807,186 Veum Sept. 24, 1957 2,854,881 Craft Oct. 7, 1958 

